Bears make offer to buy Arlington Racecourse

[Heinz D.]

4 minutes ago, beardown3231 said:

Something to think about- Vegas' new stadium is only about 3,500 more seats than Soldier Field. Just because a $2B+ stadium is built doesn't necessarily mean it'll hold 80k plus fans.

Huh. I'm surprised it's that small. Weird. Does it have an attached casino, or anything like that? I haven't read through the details. 

[IotaNet]

1 hour ago, beardown3231 said:

Something to think about- Vegas' new stadium is only about 3,500 more seats than Soldier Field. Just because a $2B+ stadium is built doesn't necessarily mean it'll hold 80k plus fans.

About that:

1)  Vegas is a much smaller market than Chicago.

2). The Vegas stadium’s capacity is 65,000 and it’s expandable to 72,000 for special events (like the Super Bowl).

Edited June 25, 2021 by IotaNet

[beardown3231]

11 hours ago, IotaNet said:

About that:

1)  Vegas is a much smaller market than Chicago.

2). The Vegas stadium’s capacity is 65,000 and it’s expandable to 72,000 for special events (like the Super Bowl).

I'm not necessarily arguing one way or another. I'm just saying that there's no absolute guarantee an AH stadium will hold 80,000+

[dll2000]

17 minutes ago, beardown3231 said:

I'm not necessarily arguing one way or another. I'm just saying that there's no absolute guarantee an AH stadium will hold 80,000+

I don’t think it is about holding huge amounts.  Its about luxury and experience.

You want tickets to be desirable so they can be used as currency for sales people, corporations and wooing politicians.

That way the extra expensive stuff is always booked.  They still want to look down on little people who really want to go. 

Right now in many stadiums people are like I would rather watch at home.

Why movie theatres cut their seats by a 3rd and made them all recliners.

 

[AZBearsFan]

On 6/25/2021 at 7:28 AM, beardown3231 said:

I'm not necessarily arguing one way or another. I'm just saying that there's no absolute guarantee an AH stadium will hold 80,000+

https://www.stadiumsofprofootball.com/comparisons/
 

The capacity numbers here surprised me. Even getting 70k capacity (SoFi’s capacity) puts us in the top half of the league.

Figure a 10k seat boost in a new stadium. To start, most if not all of those are getting PSLs. What’s an average ticket at Soldier Field, $125 or so? At 10k additional seats in a new stadium we’re talking an extra $12.5M per season in ticket revenue even if ticket prices in a new facility don’t go up (they will) with no revenue split. There’s no EL in AH and while the train is there it’s less an option than it is for downtown, so figure with 71,000 capacity you’re looking at probably 20,000 or so cars parked at $50 apiece (which may be low). That’s $10M parking revenue per season they don’t split with anyone, for just football. Getting 100% of the concessions is probably a comparable gain over the status quo, especially with 10k more fans. With just those gains you’re looking at like $30M in additional revenue already, annually, just from Bears game days, not even considering the financial windfall that comes from (hopefully) hosting playoff games. None of that even considers what they’d make for hosting other events like the Super Bowl, CFB playoff, BigTen title game, Final Four, auto shows, Metallica and Taylor Swift concerts, you name it.

On top of that, they’d be able to negotiate their own exclusivity deals for the stadium too (think Pepsi in Dallas’ stadium, etc.). Naming rights (according to this article SoFi is paying $30M per year for 20 years for naming rights for the new LA stadium). Stadium WiFi provider. Put a McDonalds or an Aurelio’s Pizza in there? Starbucks? Official waste management company? Hell, official HVAC company of the climate-controlled stadium? When you own the whole thing the additional revenue streams are boundless. One would think an onsite casino is a given whether Rush/CHD were involved or not - it’s the wave of the future. 

If it’s about money, and it always is, then a new stadium in AH just makes too much sense. With the new revenue streams opened up and expansion of those already in place ownership would make back their investment in a new stadium incredibly fast given the size of the investment. 

[dll2000]

On 6/24/2021 at 7:39 PM, IotaNet said:

About that:

1)  Vegas is a much smaller market than Chicago.

2). The Vegas stadium’s capacity is 65,000 and it’s expandable to 72,000 for special events (like the Super Bowl).

 Vegas will be 30+% visitor fans every game.   Plus many Raiders fans from CA.  

The Vegas market isn’t Vegas population.  Moving there was brilliant.   

[beardown3231]

1 hour ago, dll2000 said:

 Vegas will be 30+% visitor fans every game.   Plus many Raiders fans from CA.  

The Vegas market isn’t Vegas population.  Moving there was brilliant.   

The Bears/LV game on 10/10 will be 75% Bears fans easily 😅

[IotaNet]

2 hours ago, AZBearsFan said:

2 hours ago, AZBearsFan said:

If it’s about money, and it always is, then a new stadium in AH just makes too much sense. With the new revenue streams opened up and expansion of those already in place ownership would make back their investment in a new stadium incredibly fast given the size of the investment. 

Absolutely! And the added bonus is that since it’s outside of the city proper, there’s a whole layer of graft/payoffs that is avoided.

Don’t  get me wrong, I don’t think that the northwest burbs are any more politically pure (and we’re still talking about Cook County) but taking Chicago out of the financial/political mix can’t help but be a plus.

[AZBearsFan]

7 hours ago, beardown3231 said:

The Bears/LV game on 10/10 will be 75% Bears fans easily 😅

I think so too, but it’s gonna cost us. I looked on StubHub yesterday and tickets in the nosebleeds are going for > $500 right now. 

[WindyCity]

More luxury boxes. 
 

Standing room lounges

They are going to have close to 100k people in a new stadium.

[beardown3231]

2 hours ago, AZBearsFan said:

I think so too, but it’s gonna cost us. I looked on StubHub yesterday and tickets in the nosebleeds are going for > $500 right now. 

Yeah exactly. I ponied up $600/ticket for mine. It's been over 15 years since I last went to Vegas. My liver is going to hate me

[AZBearsFan]

17 minutes ago, beardown3231 said:

Yeah exactly. I ponied up $600/ticket for mine. It's been over 15 years since I last went to Vegas. My liver is going to hate me

Oh, I’m definitely shelling out the money. Gonna have to pull it from the slush fund though since Mrs. AZ would be less than thrilled… 

[JAF-N72EX]

On 6/23/2021 at 3:07 PM, IotaNet said:

My question was largely rhetorical but your answer is spot on. I'd like to take it a little further tho ...

Beyond the increased capacity, there is so much unrealized potential with the Bears franchise. By building a a new stadium on a 326 acre complex, the Bears could set the trend for the future of the NFL. And I believe that's they're thinking -- make no mistake: Real money -- BIG  money -- doesn't think or plan annually, it plans generationally. Chicago is the third-largest market in the country and its a world-class city. AH could be a true crown-jewel for the league.

We've talked about the potential for development on that land but a stadium is just the beginning. Hotels, residential, a sports book/casino. Think about just the potential for gambling. Now that the NFL is in Vegas and is openly embracing gambling, imagine a Vegas-style hotel but with an NFL theme. Imagine that same hotel with a purpose-built space for the draft. Imagine a dedicated fantasy football (betting!) venue. Imagine an area with cutting-edge tech infrastructure. AI, IoT, connected everything. Think of the sponsorship opportunities -- Verizon, Apple, Amazon (Next Gen Stats, anyone?) 

I posted this link before but I really want y'all to take 5 minutes and look at it. This is what the Vikings built on 200 acres as a HQ/practice facility: https://www.explorevikinglakes.com/

Imagine this on 326 acres and instead of a practice field, imagine a full-blown, year-round, football stadium. And BTW, it wouldn't be in the "City of Chicago," so downstate interests would be less inclined to hate it. With money this big, the trough would be deep and wide enough for everybody to wet their beak.

THIS is is the kind of thinking I believe is taking place.

 

 

See that's the kind of forward thinking I'm talking about.

I fully agree. The possibilities are endless with that amount of space.  Olympics even maybe? It might be a stretch and not happen for a long-time but Sofi Staduim (292 acres) won hosting bids for 2028 unless things change.

 

[JAF-N72EX]

On 6/23/2021 at 7:44 PM, Bfan said:

This is looking to be a real thing with the Bears new sports book "partners" Rush Street Interactive.  Isn't Bluhm one of the biggest real estate guys in Chicago and Churchill Downs as part owner of Rivers Casino.  This Arlington might be a real thing.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chicago-bears-betrivers-and-rivers-casino-announce-multi-year-exclusive-partnership-301317214.html

 

I won't pretend to know him and his entire history but it's pretty clear he knows how business works and beings that he's a huge Bears fan also means there already a vested interest to expand on it even further. It's a win-win.

I'll take back anything negative I've ever said about Ted if he can make this a reality in the next decade.

 

[JAF-N72EX]

On 6/24/2021 at 2:10 PM, IotaNet said:

Here’s something to consider: Is there a better use for the Soldier Field space than a football stadium?

The Bears to AH momentum is building and I think it’s going to happen. The question becomes “What happens to Soldier Field when the Bears leave?” Since it is no longer a landmark, it can probably be torn down. I’m wondering if that might be an opportunity for something better to take its place?

Right now, you have a huge building sitting on a campus along with a world-class Museum, Planetarium, and Aquarium. Yet, it sits empty for most of the year, and the only people who can access the space are those well-heeled enough to pay to attend Bears games.

IMO, this is an opportunity to open that land up for better (and more frequent) public use. There are endless possibilities based on the location but I would think that the business and philanthropic community would jump at the chance to add another Museum-like structure there. Not to mention the Chicago Park District.

Everyone loves the Bears but maybe this is an opportunity to make more inclusive civic use of that prime real estate.

Thoughts?

Absolutely. You have 7 acres of land on a waterfront. Build a large park with; docks, fishing, dog park, cabins, science center, etc. Use the space wisely and build a public place for people to go to.